Israel launches airstrike on Gaza in response to murdered teens

The bodies of three teenagers were found in a ditch near Hebron, almost three weeks after they were abducted. Israel's prime minister says Hamas is responsible for the murders and Hamas will pay as Israel launched an airstrike on Gaza and raided the homes of suspects in the West Bank.

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MARK COLVIN: Israel has launched airstrikes on Gaza, and raided the homes of suspects in the West Bank, in response to the murder of three teenagers.

The bodies of the three were found in a ditch near Hebron, almost three weeks after they were abducted.

Israel's prime minister says Hamas is responsible for the murders and Hamas will pay.

Middle East Correspondent Hayden Cooper joins me.

Just bring people up to date on this kidnapping for those who haven't been following it.

HAYDEN COOPER: Well these three boys went missing just under three weeks ago, two 16-year-olds and one 19-year-old. There were hitchhiking home from a settlement in the West Bank near Hebron when they went missing and since then there's been a massive search for them throughout the West Bank. The Israeli forces have been raiding homes, arresting hundreds of Palestinians; five Palestinians have been killed in the process. Then yesterday came the awful news that three bodies have been discovered in a ditch near Hebron and that they were the bodies of these three boys and now Israel is in mourning.

MARK COLVIN: Now Israel never takes kindly to this kind of thing, to put it mildly, what's been the reaction to, you know from people and the government?

HAYDEN COOPER: Firstly people, many of them want a very severe response to this murder as you might understand.

As for the government, well it's divided at the moment. There has been a response overnight in that as you mentioned the homes of two Hamas suspects have essentially been blown up by Israeli forces, they carried out raids on these two properties, there was no sign of where these two men are.

Now within the cabinet it's a little more complicated because there are, there is a push for Benjamin Netanyahu to enact a very severe and forceful response to this crime. That's mostly coming from Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home Party. But then there are some more moderate voices in the Cabinet urging caution. People like Tzipi Livni for example.

So Benjamin Netanyahu hasn't really announced a huge response yet. There has been airstrikes in Gaza overnight, more than 30 airstrikes. That is in response to some rockets being fired from the territory into Israel but that in a sense is not unusual, there has been airstrikes on many occasions in the past month or so in Gaza, so a definitive and strong response is yet to come.

MARK COLVIN: Why are they so sure it's Hamas, I mean I have seen some reports elsewhere suggesting that it's a group linked to ISIS or even to al-Qaeda?

HAYDEN COOPER: Yeah there's been varying reports, that was an initial one where a group with a link to ISIS claimed responsibility. But there was never any proof that that was the case.

Equally though the Israeli prime minister hasn't really offered the evidence that Hamas is responsible. They're basing that on the fact that two men - two Palestinian men - went missing also, soon after this abduction and they are the two suspects. They come from two well known families in the Hebron area. One family, or clan, which has thousands of people in it, one man who's been named is from that clan and this family has a long history of violence against Israel and even defying the wishes of Hamas leadership.

I think it might be more accurate to say that if these two men are responsible that it's the result of I guess a rogue element in this part of the Palestinian territories. Families that don't really care so much about what's happening politically, and what the orders might be from Hamas leadership...

MARK COLVIN: Alright.

HAYDEN COOPER: ...but are instead willing to enact their own measures.